A Christmas Snog
by Shalott
Summary: A feisty (and perhaps tipsy) Dumbledore has some fun at his students expense. Pure fluff. Warning: contains mild slash!


Disclaimer: as you know, none of these characters belong to me.  I'm not making any money off this either.

Please read and review!  Tell me what you hated as well as what you loved!

A Christmas Snog

     Albus Dumbledore walked slowly down the corridor.  He was in a good mood; Christmas was one of his favorite times of the year, and this year was especially good.  He had very high hopes of receiving some nice socks (he'd been hinting since October) and he'd just spent a pleasant evening with Professor Flitwick, Madame Hooch and some of her excellent (if not entirely legal) home-brewed firewhiskey.  He hummed a bit to himself as he walked, stopping only when some wayward student passed him.  It wouldn't do to scare them with humming that seemed to come from nowhere, and he didn't need the entire school knowing he could become invisible without the aid of a cloak.  He smiled a bit as two Hufflepuff sixth years snuck into an empty classroom.  There were certainly a lot of students out of bed tonight; just holiday high spirits he supposed.  A twinkle appeared in his eye as he thought back to his own school days.  He had been almost as much of a prankster as the Weasley boys.  Well, he wasn't so old yet, was he?  He still had a few tricks up his sleeve.  Perhaps it was the effects of the firewhiskey, but Albus decided to forego bed for a while longer and have a bit of fun.  He walked determinedly towards his office, glad no one could see the uncharacteristically sly grin on his face.

     Harry Potter was enjoying his Christmas as well; or he had been until he had been chosen to nip down to the kitchens and pinch some more butterbeers.  The Gryffindors were having a bit of a Christmas party, and they needed some more libations to keep it going.  As the only one with an invisibility cloak and a good enough knowledge of the layout of the castle, Harry had been elected as the messenger.

     He shivered and drew the cloak closer about him, walking faster in order to get back in front of the fire sooner.  He had successfully taken an entire case of butterbeer (not really that difficult, the house elves had tried to get him to take two, but it was awkward enough carrying one and keeping the cloak on) and was on his way back to Gryffindor tower when one of the staircases decided to shift on him.  He swore softly under his breath and tried to get his bearings.  He was in a rather narrow corridor near the charms classroom.  Ok, he could get back from here.  He hefted the butterbeer case and was about to move when he heard someone coming.  It was Draco Malfoy.  What Malfoy was doing sneaking around the castle in the middle of the night, Harry didn't want to know.  He knew Malfoy couldn't see him, but this corridor was small enough that he could easily run into him.  Harry didn't relish the thought of Malfoy knowing he was about after curfew.  He looked around for somewhere to hide, but there was nothing.  He began to walk back towards the stairway, but froze when he saw Professor Snape walking up it.  There was nowhere to go.  He was trapped in the doorway between the corridor and the staircase.  Of all the Professors to be wandering around right now, why did it have to be Snape?  Now he wouldn't even have the satisfaction of seeing Malfoy getting a detention as well as himself.  He pressed himself against the wall and prayed neither of them would run into him.   

       Draco Malfoy was on his way to the kitchens.  The Gryffindors weren't the only ones having a Christmas party, though the Slytherins had run out of sweets, not butterbeer.  He had gotten a bit lost and had just regained his bearings (how the hell had he ended up near the charms corridor?).  He was a bit annoyed at how long this was taking, and he didn't hear Snape coming up the stairs in front of him.  He had just reached the doorway and he froze.  Snape looked just as surprised to see him, and not terribly happy about it.  He was just about to stammer an excuse when he felt lips on his own, and an arm circled his waist.  There was a moment of panic, but he suddenly felt very light, and forgot all about Snape, throwing his arms around his unseen partner and kissing back.

     Snape goggled at Draco.  What was the boy doing?  He looked as if he was pretending to kiss someone.  It was grotesque really.  He was about to tell the boy to stop when a case of butterbeer appeared from nowhere and crashed down the stairs, the bottles shattering and soaking the hems of his robes.  He suddenly realized…Potter!  This had to be his fault!  He rushed up the remaining stairs, nearly slipping in the cascade of butterbeer, and reached out towards the empty space in front of Draco.  He was right.  His hand made contact with cloth and he ripped the invisibility cloak away.  It was Potter all right, but why was he kissing Draco Malfoy?  And why was Draco kissing him back?  Neither boy took the least notice of him.  This was ridiculous!  He grabbed each boy by the collar and ripped them apart.

"What is the meaning of this?"

They looked at each other, disgusted.

"He attacked me!" hissed Draco, glaring at the other boy.

"You kissed me right back!" spat Harry.

"I'm not interested in who started it." Said Snape "I would rather know not only what you're doing out of bed, but why you are kissing each other in the middle of the corridor and chucking cases of butterbeer at me!"

He was livid.  Neither boy seemed to have an explanation.  They were too busy glaring at one another.  Snape heard something behind him.  He released the boy's collars and spun around.  There was no one there.  He turned back to find Harry and Draco once more locked together at the lips.  

"What the-"

This time he definitely heard it.  Someone was laughing.

"Who's there?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Severus, but the look on your face!"

Albus Dumbledore materialized in front of him.

"Headmaster!  These boys are-"

"Oh I know what they're doing Severus." Dumbledore chuckled. "In fact, it is thanks to me that they're getting along so well!"

Snape did not see what was so funny.  He narrowed his eyes as his headmaster dissolved into giggles.

"Really Albus, this is ridiculous.  What is going on here?"

"You should be able to figure it out Severus; you had a very similar experience yourself last year with Minerva I believe."

Snape reddened.  Harry would have loved to see his Potions master blushing, but he was still feverishly making out with Draco.  

     Snape reached up to the top of the doorway and ripped down a small, almost unnoticeable sprig of greenery.  The boys instantly pulled apart and glared at each other.  Before either one could say anything Dumbledore intervened.

"Now boys, I'm afraid you've been the unwitting victims of a little Christmas prank of mine.  Don't worry, there are no permanent effects."

Both boys stared at him, completely confused.

"This was…a prank Professor?" said Harry unsteadily.

Draco just stared.  Dumbledore took the little plant from Snape and showed it to them.

"Magical mistletoe.  It's charmed to make anyone standing beneath it kiss.  It's rather hard to come by these days, but I've had this little piece for years.  Good thing it doesn't lose its potency."

Neither boy knew what to say.  This was the headmaster!  Dumbledore continued merrily.

"Don't worry.  It doesn't mean anything.  I'm sure Professor Snape could tell you that the effects aren't lasting."

Snape looked like he wanted to kill all three of them, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Well, I suppose it's getting late, and I'm sure your classmates are wondering what's happened to you.  Off you go!  Merry Christmas!"

Dumbledore conjured up a new case of butterbeer for Harry and a mound of sweets for Draco, and sent them back to their dormitories.  Both of them went wordlessly, vowing to never speak, or even think, of this again.  Albus didn't suppose either boy would try to hex the other; that would mean admitting what had just happened, and he didn't suppose either would be too eager to tell the other students what they had done.  It wasn't such a bad thing that they had managed to get along for a few minutes either.  He turned to Severus, but the Potions master just turned and swept off towards the dungeons.

     Dumbledore smiled to himself as he flicked his wand at the butterbeer mess, making it vanish.  This was indeed turning out to be a rather splendid Christmas.  He pocketed the mistletoe and set off towards the Ravenclaw tower, wondering who else was still up.     


End file.
